Hosts, Roley and Janice Schoonover, welcome guests to their home, Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, to share their love for their family ranch along with the rich history, beauty and traditions of the area. The ranch employees are all Sandpoint year round residents, providing the guests with a genuine representation of North Idaho's friendly people. The entire staff finds great pleasure in showing the scenic Panhandle region to the guests with western style. Western Pleasure is for folks who appreciate sincere, real country hospitality, while enjoying beautiful handcrafted log accommodations.

The unique lodge and cabins were designed by Janice’s father, Jim Wood, and built by a local log company. Amenities in the Grand Lodge feature a great room for guests to gather around the expansive river rock fireplace, comfortable seating, family style buffets at mealtime, a reading (or napping) loft area, a recreation room including television and a pool table, plus a wrap-around deck with an outdoor hot tub. Six lodge rooms located on both upper and lower levels are cozy and comfortable for couples and singles.

Nearby, but secluded log cabins are great for families. All of the ranch accommodations come with private baths and access to laundry facilities.

Roley and Janice invite guests to the ranch year round. Western Pleasure limits the number of guests participating in the summer ranch program to sixteen. The small numbers creates a sense of authenticity and family. This ensures that each guest receives personal attention and a customized ranch stay as well as a hands-on approach to horseback and trail riding instruction.

Fun and exciting experiences are available for everyone; a children’s program, wagon rides, canoeing, swimming and a dinner cruise on Lake Pend O'rielle. Just envision returning to the quiet solitude of a rustic cabin to relax after a day spent riding, playing horseshoes, or just enjoying the stunning scenery of North Idaho!

The summer season runs from June 1 through September 30. Most guests arrive on a Sunday and depart on a Sunday, but for flexibility guests can stay as few as three nights and arrive any day of the week. Summer stays (American Plan Package) include lodging in cozy Grand Lodge rooms or Log Cabins, daily horseback rides, three country gourmet meals daily, evening entertainment and access to all ranch amenities. Sunday is the horses day off so there is no riding on that day and lunch is not served. Specialty weeks and theme camps for young and old are also available.

Picture the romance of coming back to a fire-warmed cabin after a relaxing day of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or a sleigh ride and warming up next to the fire with a loved one. Western Pleasure runs one of the largest sleigh ride operations in the Northwest. To complete the nostalgic winter experience guests are invited into the lodge to warm up in front of a crackling fire and enjoy hot drinks and fresh popped popcorn. Also available is a sleigh ride and dinner package.

Various Schweitzer Resort Ski Packages offer the best in log cabin or lodge room getaways featuring accommodations, breakfasts, horse drawn sleigh rides and skiing at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort, North Idaho and Sandpoint’s premier ski facility.

Guests at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch enjoy all the amenities of a full service guest ranch, but most importantly, experience the pride of 56 years of ranching and the heritage of four generations. To Roley and Janice and the staff, this is truly more than just a job: it is a way of life, and they love it. The ranch is also more than just a place for guests to come vacation: it is a life experience, where memories that last a lifetime are formed. One of the guests recently put it this way: “The first time we came here, it was fabulous. The second time, it was like coming home.”

Meals are served either buffet or family style in the great room of the lodge. Chef Damon brings the taste of “country gourmet” to Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. He specializes in preparing hearty ranch meals using only the finest ingredients. The ranch owners are especially proud of their beef products that are raised naturally on grain and grass on the ranch. No steroids are used, and the cattle are processed through the family’s own federally inspected plant. For guests who return year after year to the ranch feeling like they are part of the family, Chef Damon's cooking adds the finishing touch to a truly incredible and memorable, down-home, country experience.

Horseback riding and team driven rides are the two main activities at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. Part of an excellent horse related experience is the quality and care of the ranch raised horses. Guests will not find leased horses here.

Using a training system called the “Basic Handle,” founded by Monte Forman and Pat Wyse, the ranch wranglers create safe, responsive, and sensible horses. Of course, careful breeding and maintenance ensures horses that have a disposition appropriate to the guest ranch industry.     

With a pristine mountain setting offering the ultimate in privacy and beauty in a custom log lodge, Western Pleasure Guest Ranch offers a unique opportunity to make a wedding an event to remember. All-inclusive wedding vacations include accommodations for a wedding party up to 30, activities and entertainment for the happy couple and their guests, as well as a romantic hideaway for the honeymoon. A standard package and additional customized services are available.                  

Western Pleasure Guest Ranch is a great family reunion location, and, whether the gathering is for five or fifty, the space and amenities are in place to ensure an unforgettable family experience while spending quality time together. The big bonus is sharing all of the fun activities available while staying at the ranch. 

for a motivational outing or a quiet destination to get key staff rejuvenated, Western Pleasure can create a getaway specially designed to meet corporate needs. With over a thousand acres available for activities, meetings and workspace, the ranch staff can provide planning assistance and a wide range of facilities and activities for an executive retreat or business convention. Whether it's horseback riding, fly fishing, hiking, and a scavenger hunt in the summer, or snowshoeing, skiing, and sleigh rides in the winter, this mountain retreat facility can meet the goals of a unique, relaxing and affordable conference.